NEIL LENNON'S side were 3-1 up and cruising until they threw away two goals in the closing stages. Read Gary Ralston's match report and watch the video highlights.

CELTIC extended their end-of-season benevolence to St Johnstone into the SPFL and it ended up costing them a ton.

Saints boss Tommy Wright paid tribute to Neil Lennon in the matchday programme for allowing his side to use Lennoxtown in the build-up to next week’s Scottish Cup Final.

However, the Hoops took their generosity too far at McDiarmid Park with the gift of three goals, including two in the last 10 minutes, that means the champions can no longer finish the season with 100 points.

Both sides made wholesale changes to their line-ups and it was Saints’ fringe players, with that end of season showpiece in mind, that looked far hungrier to impress.

Saints led at half-time through a Tim Clancy strike and passed up a string of chances, including a penalty miss from Stevie May.

Lennon had seen enough and in the second half introduced key men Scott Brown and Kris Commons, who played pivotal roles as Celtic surged back into the game with goals from the former Scotland striker, Teemu Pukki and Virgil van Dijk.

However, Celtic’s defence collapsed again late in the game with goals from Scott Brown – the Saints version – and former Hoops starlet Michael O’Halloran giving them a point their performance merited.

Celtic will lift the Premiership trophy against Dundee United this weekend and will hope to make it a ton of goals – they are now on 99 for the league campaign – but even a victory will leave them frustratingly short of a century of points.

Lennon rested his entire frontline and brought in Amido Balde, Derk Boerrigter and Pukki for rare starts. Lukasz Zaluska was given a run-out between the sticks, with Beram Kayal featuring and Mikael Lustig making his long-awaited comeback at right-back.

Wright, with one eye on the cup final, rested regulars Brian Easton, Dave Mackay, David Wotherspoon and Chris Millar.

Saints almost stunned the champions after only 30 seconds when O’Halloran picked up the ball in too much space 30 yards out and fired in a low shot that cracked the inside of the post.

Celtic did not heed that warning and were made to pay after only nine minutes when Saints took the lead. Van Dijk and Co can’t say they weren’t warned as they failed to pick up a clever run from May. But the striker’s volley was batted around his front post by Zaluska after a fine pass from Lee Croft.

However, the rearguard were static again from Croft’s resulting corner and Steven Anderson towered above everyone else to nod the ball into the six-yard box, where full-back Clancy flicked it high into the net for his first strike since he netted for Hibs in a 2-2 draw against the Hoops in September 2012.

Saints came close to doubling their advantage midway through the first half.

May made another intelligent run off the shoulder of van Dijk but he narrowly failed to connect with Gary Miller’s long free-kick as he tried to volley it across Zaluska and into the net.

Celtic’s defence was well off the pace and three minutes before half-time Saints passed up a glorious opportunity from the spot after more forward quick thinking.

A Croft free-kick picked out O’Halloran. As he twisted and turned his way into the box he was upended by Kayal and ref Steve McLean had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

May stepped up with goal No.28 of a phenomenal season on his mind. But Zaluska dived to his left to beat away his effort from 12 yards.

Amazingly, Saints passed up another opportunity on the stroke of half-time. Gary McDonald picked out O’Halloran again and although he turned Lustig inside out before earning a crack at goal from 16 yards he failed to even hit the target.

Celtic were almost undone again within a minute of the restart. Sub Nigel Hasselbaink picked out Croft sprinting into the box. The winger’s marker, Charlie Mulgrew, had been caught sleeping and a second goal beckoned as Croft pulled the trigger. But van Dijk stretched out one of those telescopic limbs to divert the ball to safety.

Celtic’s big guns combined for the equaliser in 53 minutes. Subs Brown and Commons flat-footed the Saints defence with a quick exchange of passes inside the box and when Brown was upended by McDonald ref McLean had no hesitation pointing to the spot.

Commons did not need to be asked twice to extend his goals tally for the season to 31 as he showed May the way to do it, blasting his effort straight down the middle past Mannus.

Then in 72 minutes Mannus pawed the ball out to Mulgrew when he should have caught it and the Scotland star had the presence of mind to knock a pass into the path of Pukki, who slotted into the net from eight yards for his seventh goal of the season.

Celtic looked to have sealed victory when Brown burrowed into the box and crossed for Commons. His shot was blocked but dropped to van Dijk who volleyed into the corner of Mannus’s net.

Amazingly, however, the home side struck back with two goals in two minutes to grab a point. Brown’s 30-yard effort took a deflection off Stefan Johansen to fly into the right-hand corner, with Zaluska wrong-footed.

The visiting fans were stunned 60 seconds later when Paddy Cregg’s low cross was met at the front post by O’Halloran, who glanced a header into the net from four yards.